Chapter 275: Waiting Center
———Lynda———
<12: 01 PM>
“Would you like tea or coffee?” She asked as all of us sat down.
“Water. Just plain water is enough. Preferably with ice” I answered. I’m just not in the mood for either of those right now.
“Hm. Alright then.” She said before walking over to the desk in front of this area. She activated something and suddenly the empty trays and other containers are suddenly filled with food and drinks. “A trick question, by the way. Just go get whatever you want.”
“…More like a worthless one.” I said before getting up and selecting a few things to put on the table, with Glery doing the same.
“You were lucky you didn’t blow up the hotel I’m staying in. I was in a bad mood with how boring the game has been so far.” She casually said, making it pretty clear she would’ve killed us if we even so much as accidentally anger her. She can easily back up that sort of threat as the second strongest person in the event. Even right now I don’t know how I’m supposed to bear someone who has such a massive advantage in terms of firepower and mobility. Her apparent frailty is hardly an issue when that’s only relative to someone of her power level.
“…So what’s your game plan then?” I asked, since she clearly doesn’t stay isolated like this without a plan in mind. She’s usually not this serious.
“Probably the same thing you two have in mind.” She casually said. “Throwing a bunch of cannon fodder at her and hoping things will work out… But that’s just the most simple version of the plan ain’t it? It's surface level thinking, not even skin deep.”
“That sort of tactic wouldn’t really work, especially if she has a crowd control ability.” Glery spelled out the flaw in that. “Logically speaking, it might even be better to kill those cannon fodder to bolster the strength of the key players. Stuff like pills and limited-use weapons will be more effective in their hands.”
“But that’s obviously not the game plan most of us seem to have.” Kenni remarked.
“Naturally. The idea of killing off most of the players to gain enough points to spend on precious items seems wise at first glance, but we’re also talking about earning the ire of not just the other players, but also Emmie herself.” Glery continued to explain. “You might be able to get away with doing something like that, but neither us or the few other strong players not from your class can.”
“More than that, based on how she was moving, it’s rather clear that she expected as many people as possible to still be alive by the fourth day.” Kenni pointed out. “She wants the most challenging fight she could have, she’s not going to be pleased if we simply try to farm others for points.”
“So we’re simply defaulting back to the first options of the cannon fodders… Though admittedly, that’s perhaps too reductive.” Glery replied. “What we’re looking for is a very coordinated game plan, and with the large playing field we should be able to cover enough ground to keep her on her toes if we have enough people peppering shots.”
“That does mean we have to put our hope in the others who are perhaps way less enthusiastic about the idea than we are.” Kenni said, bringing up perhaps the biggest obstacle in the plan. “But back on the topic of Emmie herself. As long as it’s not all of us jumping her, there’s a good chance she’s going to draw out the fight and exhaust herself more than necessary. That’s basically the only way we could stall the fight and get more hits in before she loses her patience.”
“Her one notable ‘flaw’, if we can even call it that.” Glery remarked. I think the fact that we’re in a realm where death isn’t permanent probably makes that sort of decision more likely.
“Indeed. Quite a risky fella. I think we can all agree on that.” Kenni said before taking a large sip of soda. “Speaking of said fella, do you know everything she can do yet? She’s not really the type to blast out all of her best abilities right off the bat.”
“...What else is there?” I think she is really only known for using her scythe and going crazy. Am I missing something? The few times I have interacted with her I haven’t seen any weird techniques unless you count the weapon appearing out of nowhere, but even that isn’t anything new at this point.
“Heeeh… Looks like you two need to be caught up to speed. Can’t let you be blindsided in case she threw it out.” Kenni said with a smirk on her face.
———Luik———
<5: 09 PM>
“...Have you ever fought her at full strength?” I bluntly asked.
“Heh? How should I know? I got cornered and beaten very quickly, it’s hard to tell.” Curin answered, as if confused. “Weren’t you the one who seemed to have more idea about that?”
“I’m just asking, just in case it jogs your memory.” My own battles with her didn’t go well either. I can’t get a good read on her when she easily dismantled me before I could even make much of an opinion.
“Nothing of the sort. I don’t really know if I will ever be able to push her that far. Tanking an attack is one thing, but keeping up with her pace is another.” Doesn’t look like she’s all that optimistic about her chance. Thankfully she’s not being thrown in there solo. As it stands we can still weave out a plan to make the most use out of everyone’s skillset. There will probably be some pushback since I honestly doubt everyone is gonna be on the same page by the time all of us meet up for an alliance. “So. You do seem like the type to fight a lot. I guess you were always quite athletic, but you never gave that vibe before, if that makes sense.”
“I believe most of us didn’t realize just how much a fight can be thrilling when magic is involved, for one.” It looks like we’re dropping that topic for later, probably best to wait until we meet up with the others anyway.
“Hmm… You think so? I guess I was never notorious for a street fight, or anyone in the school, really. We’re all good kids, I’d like to think. Perhaps there are troubles here and there, but most of them were outside of our scope.” She said while reminiscing on something. “...Remember the Ice Sword Incident?”
“Do we really need to bring it up again?” I still don’t quite fully understand what even happened back then. It felt like a case of mass psychosis more than anything.
“Why not? I think the stigma on it has passed with time, we can talk about it.” She said. Were you even someone that was directly involved in the incident? It was as insane as it was incomprehensible. I can’t even be sure if I can recall everything on my end. The people who were more directly involved are also pretty insistent on not talking about it openly. “I believe there was an… ice statue? And then after that…”
“You don’t seem to know a lot about it.” I remarked upon witnessing her stumbling on her words like that. Do you even actually know anything? “Why even bring it up now?”
“It’s the one violent incident that I defaulted to whenever I think about the pre-Eclipse world.” She answered. I guess it does burn into your mind, so it’s hard to shake off even for people who aren’t too familiar with it. “I’m thinking about what people were like during that time. It’s probably the closest equivalent to whatever is happening right now, actually.”
“...Last I checked, the incident didn’t cause a killing game to happen.” It was a string of events that caused a massive amount of chaos and panic. We still don’t know how it even happened or why. People being quick to dismiss the entire thing for their own sanity doesn’t help.
“But it does cause a lot of violence. It was a miracle no one died, actually. I wonder if a certain someone is the reason for that.” She argued. Do we really need to go through with talking about it? “I do remember most people being in a weird flow-state during the incident, you and me included. It’s kinda like how we’re weirdly calm and rational despite the absurd situation we’re being put into without so much as a warning.”
“I suppose you could say that. In a high intensity situation some people can be weirdly rational despite the absurdity.” Not that I know why she’s even bringing it up now. “So why even began recalling that?”
“I just remembered that I stabbed a guy during the incident.” …Okay? Why has this never been elaborated on until now? “I think it was an actual fight, got kinda crazy and my vision turned blurry, or at least my memory of it is.”
“...So?” What does that have to do with me?
“Call me crazy, but I think that time was when I really began to realize how much fun I have fighting. I just suppressed it for some reason or another. Maybe you have a similar mental block until the Eclipse undoes it?” I do want to call her crazy for assuming that.
“...Feels like the topic is being derailed a bit, but I do recall fighting during that time as well, but I can’t be certain about feeling any joy during that, unlike how I am now.” Perhaps I simply do not enjoy the barbaric and panic-fueled fighting that I was subjected to back then. I like it when I have some control over my fighting condition, being more methodical and having awareness of the state of the battle instead of fighting like I was partially blinded. “The condition of this event and that incident is quite different, so I don’t think using it as a reference is the best idea for you to come to a conclusion.”
“Well aren’t you a smarty pants?” She said without sounding particularly bothered. “...So do we still not know why it even happened?”
“No. I doubt the truth is gonna come out with how long it has been by now, and how we have more things to worry about at this moment.” That will remain a mystery for as long as the people involved are all skirting around the topic. “It’s not really something worth looking into, but that’s just my own personal gut feeling.”
“Is that so?” Doesn’t look like she’s willing to oppose such a stance. I think it would be better for us to simply focus on the future. Both immediate and far future.
———Lynda———
<7: 03 PM>
“...Would tomorrow actually be a big day? I know the center area will open and she’ll wait there, but not everyone is going to arrive there by then, right?” We just sorta assume that the fourth day is when the big battle will happen, but for all I know it’s the fifth day where, presumably, the area will be closed off to just it alone.
“Hell if I know. I do have an idea of where Emmie will be during that time, but we’re not really in the rush to find her by then.” Kenni gives us her speculation. “Anyway. We need to meet up with the others who share the same game plan as us. Rushing in will do us no good.”
It’s really weird that she is the one who pointed that out. It’s hard to imagine her ever talking like a strategist instead of a self-proclaimed jester.
“...Feels like it’s gonna be a chore trying to find other people in there.” I really hope it doesn’t become a massive pain.
“Hey, be more optimistic here. We’re already leaning there with the whole ‘Going against Emmie’ thing anyway.” Kenni said with her usual tone and expression.
“Haaa… Right.” I don’t really feel like arguing when we’re forced to do it anyway. “Tomorrow. To the metropolis.”